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I’m going through David Magee’s fascinating book called “How Toyota Became #1”, and I am summarizing parts of the chapter that I find most salient as I read through the book. This post is a condensation of the fourth chapter, and it concerns the Toyota approach to muda or waste which can be summarized in the phrase “Rid All That Adds No Value.”

Progress comes not just from moving forward, but by removing any obstacles that you may encounter along the way. Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, taught his son Kiichiro Toyoda that waste was the great inhibitor of both man and machines. The practice of elimination of waste started on the factory floor, but became to be practiced in all areas and at all levels of the company. The bottom line at Toyota is: if a process or an activity does not add value, get rid of it.